Beachfront places north of Auckland and in Northland sold under the hammer this week for prices way above their rateable valuables, a sign that colder temperatures and the Government’s housing market shake-up have not curbed buyer appetite for holiday homes.
A completely renovated three-bedroom bach close to a secluded beach on the Tāwharanui Peninsula fetched $3.78 million at auction – almost $2 million above its CV and more than a $1 million more than what it sold for in 2017.
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The stylish cedar house on an 809sqm beachfront section at 44 Buckleton Road, Buckleton Beach, had attracted over 70 groups to private viewings and four registered bidders.
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“We had people from Auckland, from Wellington and Wanaka looking,” says Bayleys agent Dahnie Burton, who marketed the property with colleague Jenni Marsh.
“People had budgets of $3 million-plus. People are frustrated by prices in [nearby Omaha] and what that’s become, they love that this is quieter and you can launch your boat right off the beach.”
37 Blue Bell Parade, in Omaha, sold for $4.3 million under the hammer. Photo / Supplied
Burton says that properties in the area are tightly held, staying in families for generations. Fewer than 20 houses are on the beachfront itself, and around 60 are in the entire enclave. “We just don’t have the stock. I have people with $3 million-plus budgets who just say, ‘Find me anything’.”
Burton is right about Omaha prices. A bare site on the beachfront in the rich-lister sold at auction for $4.3 million – more than $1.7 million above its CV. The 942sqm section at 37 Blue Bell Parade, which was marketed by Bayleys agents Paul Elsden and Victoria Turner, had attracted five registered bidders and was very much in demand.
While he can’t divulge details of the buyer, Elsden says that there are a lot of people looking with budgets in the high $3-millions to early $4-millions.
The price per sqm for the property - $4564 – is high but didn’t eclipse the $6317 per sqm for the 554sqm block at neighbouring 12 Lagoon Way, which sold for $3.5 million in August last year. Last summer, an 817sq m section at 41 Kewai Street sold for $3.14 million and a 973sqm block a 9 Kutai Lane got $3.8 million.
Further north, at Mahinepau Bay, just outside Kerikeri, an architect-designed beach front home sold for $2.85 million - $1.27 million above its rateable value. The three-bedroom house and sleepout at 93 Mahinepua Road sits on a 6,445sqm site, has views of the Cavalli Islands and is close to the luxury Kauri Cliffs Lodge.
93 Mahinepua Road, Mahinepau Bay, sold for $2.85 million. Photo / Supplied
The listing agent, Bayleys’ David Baguley, says he had more than 120 enquiries and 70 groups through, mostly from Auckland. “I even had ex-pats considering bidding without seeing the property in person. We expected interest over $2 million, but there were people who had been looking all summer. They can’t get away to Fiji or overseas, so they’re looking here,” he says.
Bargains are hard to find. Baguley says a pretty cottage he has just listed in Manganui , in the Far North, had 30 enquiries in just two days after listing, while a beachfront house at 66 Marlin Drive, in Taupo Bay, an hour out of Kerikeri, has already had massive interest.
